Page 71 of The Billionaires' Prize

“She hugged me today.”

Wow. That’s not what I expected her to say. But given her history, I can see how that’d rock her. My family has always been affectionate. Hers, not so much.

Katherine gives a little laugh like she’s trying to shake off her mood. “That’s silly, right? It was barely a hug. I started to hug her back, and she was already pulling away.”

Caressing her cheek, I duck down so I can meet her gaze head-on. “That’s not silly. It’s never silly to want affection.”

She still looks so. . . dejected.

The brief bit of physical contact must have gotten her hopes up. Thinking her mom was finally coming around and finally seeing what Katherine really needed.

What a mind fuck. Lucinda has spent years crafting Katherine into a mirror image of herself, never stopping to care that Katherine is different. My sassy Scorpio is highly emotional and incredibly empathetic, yet she holds herself back from the world and from people until she trusts them.

Which says a lot about Gabe and Alex.

She presses her forehead against my chest. “It shouldn’t be so hard.” Her shoulders lift and fall in a sad shrug. “She acted all concerned, and it just. . .”

The rawness in her voice breaks my heart, and I kiss the top of her head, squeezing my eyes shut.

“She’s gaslighting you.”

Katherine nods. “I’m done making excuses for her.”

“Good.” I cup her cheeks and meet her gaze. “Good.”

Her lovely eyes are pink, but they search mine, steady and hopeful. I scoop her up, one arm behind her back, the other beneath her knees. I step to the bench seat, turn and sit, then settle her across my lap. There’s still a showerhead facing this way, raining warm water over our chest.

We keep ending up here, finding our way to each other. Letting the water wash away the past.

“I need you to tell me the truth, Wildfire. No hedging.”

She wraps her arms around my shoulders. “Okay.”

“Do you love your job? Is it where you want to be? What you want to do? Is it worth all this pain?”

Her jaw drops, and her mouth falls open. Then she swallows, and I see the wheels start spinning in her mind, faster and faster, like a ride at Coney Island.

“Think about it, okay?” I press a kiss to her forehead, willing her to understand that my questions come from a place of love. “Life’s too short to spend so much time and energy on something that doesn’t fulfill you.”

Staring at my lips, she rakes her nails along my jaw. I need to shave, but she doesn’t seem to mind. A half smile lifts the corner of her mouth, and she cups my cheek. “Are you fulfilled?”

My heart tumbles in my chest. Of course, she’d turn this around on me. The problem is, I’m constantly torn in multiple directions. My sister Mel says I have too many interests. That was just one of the things she grilled me about over lunch today.

“We’re talking about you.”

“I think we’re talking about us.”

I close my eyes as my soul leaves my body and does a lap around the block. “Why did I have to fall for a smart girl? Why couldn’t you just be pretty and dumb like me?”

She gives me a playful smack up the back of the head. “You’re not dumb.”

I drop a kiss on the tip of her nose. “You said something about food?”

“You think you’re going to get out of this conversation?”

For the life of me, I don’t understand myself sometimes. Here I am with the girl of my dreams, naked in my arms. I should be shouting it from the rooftops. Telling her all the wild thoughts firing through my brain.

But speaking those words out loud feels like tying myself to this place. To this life.

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